Bonding Troubles

[Thumpers_Mom]

So for the last two days, Thumper and Peaches have been fighting a little more than usual. Last night was the worst!

It started out great! They were eating together and just chilled out. They had a few moments of grooming eachother then after about 30 min. all heck broke loose! Thumper wanted to be groomed and Peaches nipped him then that was it! They went at it and boy was this one hard to break up!

I don’t ever end their meetings on a bad note, but this one was a different story. Thumper grabbed onto my hand something fierce (which got swollen) for about 15 sec. so I put him in his cage and then Peaches bit my other handthough it wasn’t anything like Thumpers bite!

I was sooo upset, then just hurt! I know we’ve only been at it for just about 3 weeks but why is it getting worse? They seem to like eachother one minute and then go at it the next when one doesn’t get groomed when they want it!

Should I continue full steam ahead with their meets or should I give it a break? If so, for how long? I knew that this was going to be hard and that it would take time but last night kinda broke my heart.

*jackie

[babybunsmum]

awww   (((jackie)))

while you wait for some one with bonding experience to offer some guidance i just wanted to say… sorry you had such a rough time!  hope the bite marks (and hurt feelings) are better today.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I second that…I don’t really have any advice for you, but I hope you are feeling better today! bunny bites can seriously hurt!

[Sarita]

Ouch – I hope you are feeling better today.

I say don’t give up. Restart the process with short bonding periods with you totally supervising (like inside a pen). Just do 15 to 30 minute sessions every day for awhile. I think you are going to have to persevere and not give up. Your still doing a great job of bonding them so don’t let this one incident keep you from continuing on. I can totally understand where you might need the break after this but I don’t think I would do that.

I know they didn’t mean to bite you – your hand just got in the way.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Hey someone was on here, and they are taking their bunny on bunny dates and they mentioned something I thought was a good idea…not sure if you want to try;

They put the two bunnies together and gave them pretty hard nose rubs so that they both lowered their heads…maybe this could help??

[Thumpers_Mom]

Thx guys.

I wonder if they are trying to figure out who is the dominant one now that they are more settled. I was more heart broken than mad that they are not getting along yet. I don’t take the biting personally. Thumper had the ONLY sad eyes when I put him in his cage and told him that what he did was not nice…and turned my back on him. I gave him some attn this morning and he was just like…MOMMY!!!

You’re right Sarita, I am not going to give up on them. I can see that they really do want to get along. I love when they cuddle together.

I’ve tried the car thing and it works for some time…but they are not in the least bit scared of the vaccuum. I also just started switching the cages. I think I am going to continue with the car rides and try the bathtub next. (another neutral territory).

Well, as it turns out, I have class today and tomorrow so I won’t be doing any bonding which is probably a good thing. They can just hang near each other in their cages. Maybe I will do 10-15 min. depending on what time I get home.

Oh, I do the nose rub with them too. Especially when they are cuddling and I see that one of them might start getting a bit tense and they both just sink to the floor…it is sooo funny and cute.

Thank you all again…and if anyone else has any advice or comments, I would love to hear it.

*Jackie

[dmh426]

OMG. This is why Sophie is staying an only bunny. i am so scared of bonding!

[MarkBun]

Bonding is a scarey issue. I am the one who has been speed-dating my bunny. If all goes well, the potential suiter will be going home with me within the next week or so. When things go terribly wrong, you should pull back on the time. Bonding is often the old case of “one step forward, two steps back”.

The way the bonder works with my bun is that she first puts my bun into the bonding box, then puts in the new one and immediately starts petting their heads together fast and firm – sort of like what you do to brush off a couch or smooth out a bedspread – she uses both hands and goes at it for a good 30-60 seconds continuously. If either of them begin to show any sort of bad attitude, it is time to pet them like that again, immediately. It works for my bun – but not all buns are the same.

DMH – if you can find a shelter that will let you take your bunny on some ‘dates’, it wouldn’t hurt. First off, it will be a nice trip out with you and your bun and second, she might find someone who would be ‘love at first sight’ and the bonding would be really easy. But there is nothing wrong with a single bun – i still am contemplating not going through with this as for some reason, Maryann has become really affectionate to me lately – she has groomed/kissed me more in the last two weeks than she has in the last five years. Now I don’t wanna share her.

[Spacehopper]

jesus you poor thing!!! I would slow down for a while and almost start over again. Keep the new one in the cage, but pop the cage just on the outskirts of the other’s territory (if there is one), let them sniff each other for a little bit each day, whatever you do don’t give up!!! I VERY nearly did as it just seemed a thankless task, and never ending hell, but i really do think that your patience will reward greatly (think of it as being caught in the middle of a power struggle, it all balances out eventually), hope it helps, and good luck!!

[Thumpers_Mom]

Thx everyone…I wasn’t able to do any bonding last night because I got home at 10pm from school last night…tonight will be the same. Their cages are right next to eachother…here is a pic of their setup

Last night, as well as this morning, when they saw me, they both squished their face through the cage to get pets…it was sooo cute. When I start to pet Thumper, he just sank to the floor and started purring.

 

It is rough but I am sure it is worth it. They have spent nearly 3 hrs together at times…but I am going to scale it back and try to work it out.

Here are some more pics of when they are getting along.

I’ll keep you posted…

*Jackie

 

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